Banana Bliss for Breakfast

I don’t know why – perhaps the recent chill in the air? – but lately I’ve had a hankering for pancakes. The hankering became downright want yesterday when I realized I still had baby bananas sitting in my fruit bowl. Hmmm…I could put those on top of pancakes, I thought. No, wait – better yet, I could make pancakes with the bananas! Seeing as bananas are squishable and sticky, they’re great candidates to include in fruity baked goods. And their natural sweetness comes in handy, too.

Although I used baby bananas for my ‘cakes, you can use the standard large Cavendish variety that you’ll find in every grocery store, food mart, and even gas station in America. Just be sure your ‘naners are ripe enough to mash easily with a fork. For Cavendish bananas, that means turning brown with a hint of spotting; for baby bananas, that means turned brown with spots are are big enough to be blotches.

Banana-Cinnamon Pancakes This makes 10 pancakes or enough for two with a few to spare. Feel free to double the recipe for a larger yield.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas until fairly smooth. Add eggs and milk and whisk well, then whisk in remaining ingredients. If you’re sticking with gluten-free flours, you can whisk like mad until you have a beautifully smooth batter; if you’re using wheat-based flours, use a wooden spoon to stir ingredients until just blended. (Overwhisking gluten-free flours can’t overtoughen the gluten strands since there aren’t any.)

The best way to make pancakes is with a squared-off griddle pan – such pans comfortably hold 4 pancakes at a time – but if you don’t have that, melt a dab of butter in a large nonstick skillet instead. Add batter in 1/4 cupfuls, cooking over medium or medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes or until the tops of the individual pancakes look like they’re starting to set. (The tiny bubbles will have popped.) Flip and cook the second side for another minute or two. Turn down your heat a notch if the ‘cakes are getting too brown. Add enough butter between batches to keep the pancakes from sticking to the pan.

Serve immediately. Leftover ‘cakes can be refrigerated and then gently rewarmed for up to 4 days.

* These are gluten-free flours. If you’d prefer to make a wheat-based version, use equivalent amounts of kamut, spelt, or whole-wheat flours.